Filipinos rock! Go, Pacquiao!
I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told...
This is a decades old tradition... I knew old Irish guys that used to do this a long long time ago.
2
NYT moved the article too quickly and it wasn't easy to find.
Those who box, who commit themselves to the discipline and effort it takes to get good, are admirable in the usual way athletes are admirable. Well maybe not usual, because it is a particularly hands-on sport, but it does take a certain skill set. It's the people who watch boxing who are the scary ones.
Is it better that these young people box instead of shoot? Uh, yeah. But still not the best of messages. It is selling stardom/excess as a happy life, and likely ensuring lifelong injuries and bad health.
That it is underground is part of the allure. Who isn't tired of being owned or watched?
Those who box, who commit themselves to the discipline and effort it takes to get good, are admirable in the usual way athletes are admirable. Well maybe not usual, because it is a particularly hands-on sport, but it does take a certain skill set. It's the people who watch boxing who are the scary ones.
Is it better that these young people box instead of shoot? Uh, yeah. But still not the best of messages. It is selling stardom/excess as a happy life, and likely ensuring lifelong injuries and bad health.
That it is underground is part of the allure. Who isn't tired of being owned or watched?
2
I have a lot of respect to those who stick with their passion, but I have to admit, I don't have the stomach to watch boxing which is one of the most physical and brutal sports that resonate gladiators fighting till they drop within the confine of the rope ring. Yes, there are rules and regulations, but I can't help worrying about what the amount of blows and concussions that these guys (and women in their comparable sports) sustain and the long term impact later on in their life.
I sincerely hope they would turn out ok, but you never know. I can never be spectator to the brutal sports.
I sincerely hope they would turn out ok, but you never know. I can never be spectator to the brutal sports.
4
Boxing itself is no sport.
It is mayhem legitimatized.
Champion boxer Rocky Marciano said it all about boxing:
"I get paid for beating up people."
People magazine quoted Welterweight boxing champion, Sugar Ray Leonard who said at a benefit.
“We're all given some sort of skill in life. Mine happens to be beating up people.
Granted other sports have bloody mayhem but that is simply a bonus for the crowd not the main event.
How can you shower praise on Joe Frazier or any person whose goal is to mash in the face and destroy the body of his opponent like in this so-called “sport.”
Champion boxer Mike Tyson bit off the ear of his opponent Evander Holyfield. Where is the "sport" in this? These are not the actions of so called "warriors" but those of berserk "Roman gladiators."
Tyson confessed: ". . I was mad. I was getting dizzier and I felt like I was blacking out like I did in the first fight. Then I really panicked. He had just kicked my a-- six months before. I didn't want that to happen, so I just went for the gusto. I lost my discipline as a fighter and just went for broke."
Joe Frazier's trainer, “the legendary Eddie Futch, [who] had seen four men die in the squared circle…” Why is this not the same as the deaths of Roman gladiators who pledged that “those who are about to die salute you.”
It is mayhem legitimatized.
Champion boxer Rocky Marciano said it all about boxing:
"I get paid for beating up people."
People magazine quoted Welterweight boxing champion, Sugar Ray Leonard who said at a benefit.
“We're all given some sort of skill in life. Mine happens to be beating up people.
Granted other sports have bloody mayhem but that is simply a bonus for the crowd not the main event.
How can you shower praise on Joe Frazier or any person whose goal is to mash in the face and destroy the body of his opponent like in this so-called “sport.”
Champion boxer Mike Tyson bit off the ear of his opponent Evander Holyfield. Where is the "sport" in this? These are not the actions of so called "warriors" but those of berserk "Roman gladiators."
Tyson confessed: ". . I was mad. I was getting dizzier and I felt like I was blacking out like I did in the first fight. Then I really panicked. He had just kicked my a-- six months before. I didn't want that to happen, so I just went for the gusto. I lost my discipline as a fighter and just went for broke."
Joe Frazier's trainer, “the legendary Eddie Futch, [who] had seen four men die in the squared circle…” Why is this not the same as the deaths of Roman gladiators who pledged that “those who are about to die salute you.”
4
Underground NYC life. This is what NYC is known for creating a unique experience. Welcome to NYC.
2
Somewhere there's a colorful argument considering whether one can get the sense knocked into or out of oneself.
2
Join the ARMY. This is disgusting.
7
Great article! i used to go to the 7 train theater muay thai fights in flushing queens-i was a little intimidated to go at first but everyone there was very nice and respected the art form-it was really fun. i would look forward to more articles like this!
2
Now this is the NYC I know! Great article Mr. Madsen. Our old boxing club motto: 'Think you are tough enough?' True grit here folks, I remember Norman Mailer gloving up for a few rounds in the 70's. He took some shots but hung in there and earned respect. Ray Mancini, tough as nails...Rocky Graziano, the rock...smooth move Sugar Ray Robinson, Killer Emile Griffith all NYC clubbers...all RAW! More of this....
3
Got to love New York got to la da Bronx. If these guys like this God Bless um. Being a city kid I remember the after school fights were events. Couple guys got out there and duked it out after the fight everybody went home to do their homework. Next day in school these two guys are eating lunch with the best looking girls in the school. Never would anyone think of getting a gun and more often than not the two pugilist became buddies for life. Oh the good old days! It was my mom who made me guy back out and confront the bully for she taught me to never run away from a fight. I totally understand and respect his mom for being there for her son. Good Luck.
13
What a great story. Mr. Cunningham is like a modern day Rocky.
4
Why don't they start a running club, something that burns energy without releasing total brutality? I can't even watch these events. I don't think it is enough justification to say it keeps them from killing each other on the streets, or that they get respect that way. Mafia stooges get respect being Mafia stooges, we don't say, "Hey, that's great! And you get cash, too! Nice job." We say you are a criminal.
6
"Mafia" stooges kill people, extort protection money from businesses, and prey on gambling addicts with loan sharking. By contrast, these guys are engaged in a combat sport where they respect their opponent and nobody innocent or unwilling gets hurt. Trying to conflate the two is simply insulting.
6
Russ, you need to turn in your Italian identity card. I can't believe I'm reading this, written by a D'Italia.
1
or maybe a cooking class? or maybe a book club?
wow. great article.. all these guys exhibit such class. hope to see more from this writer.
6
Many people who have multiple opportunities for success in life prefer to look down on boxing as an unacceptably brutal and risky sport. What they don't understand is that boxing is often far less risky than its void: without boxing, many of the young men and women who participate in it would be lost, without a cause, and would possibly be more prone to getting into trouble. Boxing can be brutal, yes, but it is also a sport of mutual respect and personal discipline. If it has meaning for the young people who participate in it, why begrudge them that meaning? Are the people who would criticize boxing providing alternatives for the young people who have discovered it as their source of pride? If not, the critics should either remain quiet, or get to work.
23
The third rule of Fight Club is NO GLOVES.